Mutual fund industry net sales declined in October, according to the latest data from the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).

IFIC reports that net sales for the month came in at $2.6 billion, down from $3.7 billion in September. However, sales were higher compared to October 2013, which were just $1.70 billion.

Long-term fund net sales were $2.6 billion in October, and money market funds recorded modest net redemptions of $71.1 million in the month, IFIC says.

For the year-to-date, overall net sales are now at $52.2 billion; up from just under $35 billion for the same period in 2013.

Balanced funds led the way in October, with $2.3 billion in net sales, which was down from $3.7 billion in sales last month. Bond funds recorded monthly net sales of $363.5 million, compared to net redemptions of $325.5 million in September. Whereas equity funds suffered net redemptions of $229.2 million in October, compared to net sales of $522.9 million in the previous month.

IFIC reports that total mutual fund assets under management (AUM) finished the month at $1.12 trillion, up by $7 billion, or 0.6% for the month.

The data reported by IFIC is compiled by Investor Economics using numbers provided by IFIC and other sources.